Toy gun



L. EDWARDS July 12, 1949.

TOY GUN Filed June 18, 1945 Patented July 12, 1949 JTOIY GUN.1LeeiEdwards, Ghicago, Ill.

App ca on Jun l8,

"5 Glaims. 1 1 1115lHVBHtlQIlTBkLtGStO toy guns of the-type'which-aremechanically actuated as distinguished from those-employingexplosives.

-' One objectef-theinventien is toprovide atoy guni'having :means forexpelling a missile but --equippedwith means whichprevents the expelling=mechanism from-operating except when the gun in= pointed-substantiallin a vertical direction.

It isalso -anwobiect-of the invention toprovide =.a.- mechanicallyoperated gun havingrneanswhich -renders it incapable .of shooting in a"horizontal direction.

:More specifically,:theinvention includes a gun ihaving akbarreliwithea'drivingmember operable :.therein-.xto expel iaimissile rfrom the barreLtoiifiethertwith.:spring: means which is tensioned for .zactuat-ingithedriver-and pivotajlly suspended latch -.means which .normally falls intoa :position to obstrllct thermovementu-of the: driver except when {themharrelhis held. substantially; in; a: vertical. po- ;:S b. .0I. al.lafifi zmeansubeing then swungvby relativ y;inton m n antspo ition sothat-the driver mechanism will clear it and cperateto-eXpel a mis iwheni releasedbythe tr er. other. objects-a idadva ta es:oflth einventini w ll appear imm th fo lcwinade cript ontaken. in. connection 1 th s-daWmesi nwhh:

.-Fig.1 1 isra 1 lon itud nal; sectional. view of a mehanica yoperatedieun .zz mbodyin Lthis inven- ..tior 1,-; a ,ifreemen "o th'ZSUQQ h ndle bein ,.shown in -elevation and ,al 0 3! i0n-;0f.t; ?lebarrel beingibroke out tov cond nse t e ew;

'.e.. ..i a raement y'bottomplan ewparilv iin ssection. asi di atedat ln wloni iie.

.slie. a: trans ersev rt cal se tion-taken :as 1 indicated "at line 3 83-on Fig; l;

,Eig.,4 is a verticalsection at; lineJE-A on; Fig; 1

Fig. 1-5. is.- a detail section-on an enlargediscale v. e netaken substet l szat-l ne wion i .1;

R -6 is a deta rv t sse ti n anenlar ed ,scale pf; a 1 part .of the,operatin ehanism;

7 is d t l ecti withsp rt iomittedi eliminating. the" p sition of; t s.-te swhen the zber el is pointedin a rt cal.. i r on- While there isshown and described hereinycer- .t nsp ific-s ructureembodyin th i ventn, iii-winner m i est t th se ski le int-heart. that variausnm dfications: and; earrane entsaof th f a re f t oy -.ei. i.s. w t rein ma=1 b madewithoutd na iinefrom the-.s iritand-scope voiithe i vent ,a hah same i n t. limit 21118; nar icu ri rm: here xlisclosedi except insoziar nd c teda m h mend d cla ms.

:-A- com,mo,n ztyp -i f .:toy:; un is shaped tcshnu- 1945, Serial No.;600,063

.d ive ec an sm. usually spri opera e for .e p ll ne i i su has a i ht wo e bail or bullet in si nulation of the action of a-gun which employsexplosive cartridges. Although the-force 5 with which the toy missile isexpelled is not exceedingly great; there is the possibility of seriousaccident to the playmates of the user When the gun is operated at closerange; it also; is capable of breaking windows and doing other damagewhen improperly used. The present invention aims to provide a gunof'thisgeneralcharacter but to include in its-mechanism a catcher'detent device-which prevents the; gun from operating; in a-h-orizontaldirection or many direction 15 except when" the-barrel is pointedupwardly. This permits the missile to r be --shot i into the air,33ffording the user-the satisfaction of firingthe gun but withoutserious probability -ofinj uryto I anyone. --A- gun or this typealsornay-be employed forlaunching toy parachutes-which may bevariouslyconstructed so thatthey -maybe collapsed and placed .in the *ibarrel of1 the --gun :for such -launching.

-'-As--shown in: the drawings, the gun includes a 1 hollow tubularbarrel I ll secured-at its rear end in a breech portionili-which-maycontinue in -a --butt--portion. Mr shaped: toresemble that of a rifle orsimilar i firearm, or which may ebesformed .as 'a-indicated. in:dottedoutline at I 6* to simulate: the *handle .of-a pistol orotheri-smalltsidearm. 'The length of-;-the'-harrel:t I10 will.oftcourse; be propor- -ti0nate:.to the .-style of the stock. The breech.may-.be .understo.o.d ascomposed of two halves ijoined iat =-.avertical plane andsecured-together eby rivets L8, .18 :with the end of;.the barrel i ll! "clamped-betweenthem.

:Extending; from. the breech -.SCti0l1%jllSt:belO.W .:.the barrel:andparallel therewith there is provided .a guide tube :20 l. having .aplunger :22 slidably amounted therein. 5 Said; plunger carries a. driver124; connected to 1 the plunger, Joy a:- narrow arm-":26 whichextendsthrough ;a, longitudinal -slotrr28 in {the ilower'side Ofgthfibarrel Ill .so. that'the; driver i24 maymove= lengthwise-1m thebarrelwhen the sion-springriifli has one-end anchored to. acrosspin -32i in. the outer end of athe guideitube 2 0,-.iw.hile :the,other end of.the :spring is connected tov the plunger 22 at 34. By means of a. ring-36;slidahle v upon ,1thegguide tube 'JZIJLand engaging the=arm 526,;the spring v3llimayabentensioned by forcingrthe :plungerxZZ toward the 1rear e end of the: tuberztl until the:.sh0u1der;381in the plunger rides=over :the ztooth :40 10f ;.a catch; .or aholding lmember ifl l tazflteanmahutathe herrel- S.:pr;oV.ided-W thea 5 w ichlispiviotedintheihreech 3135.44. Thespring 3 it yieldingly holds the part 42 withits tooth to in upstanding position and said part 42 positively stoppedby a pin 48 which checks the rotation of the member 42 at this position.

When the gun has been cooked by retractin the plunger 22 into engagementwith the latch tooth 40 and thus placing the spring 30 under tension, aball 50, or any other suitable missile, is placed in the barrel 10,being entered from the outer end or muzzle thereof and allowed to restagainst the driver 24 in its retracted position at the rear end of theslot 28. Then, to fire the gun, the trigger 52, which includes a tooth54 engaging the tooth 56 of the latch member 42, is rocked to rotate thelatch member 42 through a sufiicient arc to disengage its holding tooth48 from the shoulder 38 of the plunger 22. If the gun is pointed upward,this will permit the spring 30 to contract suddenly, drawing with it theplunger 22 and the driver 24 and expelling the missile 50 from thebarrel.

To prevent this operation when the barrel is I directed otherwise thanupwardly, I provide the plunger 22 with a second shoulder 58 and mountthe reduced portion of the plunger 22 in position to engage the shoulder58 and obstruct the movement of the plunger if the trigger should beoperated. Similarly, if the gun is held on its side in a generallyhorizontal position, one of the,

upper dogs 60 and oneof the lower dogs 80 will fall into obstructingposition with respect to the shoulder 58; and if the gun is held upsidedown,

but in a generally horizontal position, the two lower dogs 68 will swinginto obstructing position in relation to the shoulder 58.

The dogs 68 may be supported upon any suitable pivot means; Fig. shows awire-62 bent in the form of a square to provide pivot bearings for allfour of the dogs and this square-pivotal,

supporting frame is lodged between the two halves of the breech I2 withits corners fitted into notches 64 therein. These portions of the breechare hollowed out to provide a chamber 66 in which the dogs 60 may swingfreely through a.

limited range, and this range is sufiicient so that when the gun is heldwith its barrel Ill in a substantially vertical position, all four dogs60 will hang pendant from the pivot wire 62as'shown in Fig. '7, so thatif the trigger is pulled to release the plunger 22 from the holdingtooth 48, the shoulder 58 will move past the dogs 60 without obstructionand the driver 24 will be permitted to expel the ball 58 upwardly fromthe barrel [0. It may be understood that the ring or sleeve 36 employedfor cocking the gun may be attached permanently to the plunger 22 so asto move with it if desired; but preferably, the sleeve will not beconnected to the plunger, but will be employed merely to slide it backinto latched position. The sleeve will then be returned to the outer endof the guide tube 20, engaging the tube with sufficient friction toremain in that position while the gun is fired.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a mechanism suitable for usein atoy gun and adapted to render the gun. safe and harmless in thehands of children or those of immature judgment while at the same timepermitting it to be employed in an entertaining fashion and to serve thepurposes of a toy without the danger customarily associated with adevice of this character.

I claim:

1. In a gun, the'combination of a barrel, a driver movable therein toexpel a missile from the barrel, a plunger associated with said driver,a spring to actuate said plunger and driver, trigger means to hold theplunger in retracted position with the spring under tension, saidplunger having a shoulder, detent means pivoted adjacent the plunger anddisposed normally in position to engage the shoulder when the trigger isreleased unless the gun is held with the barrel extending in verticalposition the center of gravity of the detent means being so related tothe pivot thereof that in all positions of the gun except when the gunis aimed vertically, gravity causes rotation of the detent means toforce it into engagement with the shoulder.

2. In a gun, the combination of a barrel, a driver movable therein toexpel a missile from the barrel, a plunger connected to said driver, aguideway for the plunger in which it is slidable, a spring which istensioned by sliding the plunger in one direction, holding mechanism forthe plunger, a trigger for releasing said plunger from the holding meansat will, said plunger having a shoulder, and a plurality of pivoteddetent dogs extending from their pivots rearwardly in the gun, with atleast one of said dogs normally disposed in obstructing relation to saidshoulder of the plunger, all said dogs hanging vertically from theirpivots in positions clear of said shoulder when the barrel of the gun ispointed in a substantially vertical direction said dogs being arrangedin spaced position about the plunger and so positioned that when thebarrel is horizontal at least one of the dogs-is at all times above ahorizontal plane passing through the longitudinal axis of the plunger,the center of gravity of each dog being spaced rearwardly from the pivotaxis.

3. In a gun, the combination of a tubular barrel, a, tubular guideextending parallel to said barrel, a stock having a breech portion fromwhich said barrel and guide extend, a plunger slidable in said guide, adriving spring for th plunger, a driver carried by the plunger andmovable thereby in the barrel for expelling :a missile therefrom,holding and release mechanism for the plunger housed in the breech witha trigger projecting therefrom, said plunger having a shoulder, anddetent means also housed in said breech and normally positioned toengage said shoulder when the trigger is actuated, but automaticallymoved from the path of the'plunger when the barrel is pointedin asubstantially vertical direction the detent means including a memberpivoted at a, point removed from the center of gravity thereof, thecenter of gravity being between the pivot line and the breech portion ofthe gun whereby gravity exerting its force rotates the detent intoinoperative position when the barrel is aimed vertically.

4. In a gun, the combination of a barrel, a driver movable therein toexpel a missile from the barrel, a plunger associated with said driver,a springto actuate said plunger and driver, said plunger having ashoulder, a toothed holding member engageable'with said shoulder to holdthe plunger in retracted position with the spring under tension, atrigger for releasing said holding member at will, said plunger having asecond shoulder, detent means pivoted-adjacent -the plunger and disposednormally in obstructing relation to said second shoulder but out ofcontact therewith, ready to engage the shoulder when th trigger isactuated, said detent means being held clear of said second shoulder by'gravity when the gun is held with the barrel extending in substantiallyvertical direction the center of gravity of the detent means beinglocated to the rear of the pivot thereof whereby at all times exceptwhen the barrel is vertical, ravity forces rotation of the detent meansinto the shoulder engaging position.

5. In a gun, the combination of a barrel, a driver movable therein toexpel a missile from the barrel, a plunger connected to said driver, aguideway for the plunger in which it is slidable, a spring which istensioned by sliding the plunger in one direction, holding mechanism forthe plunger, a trigger for releasing said plunger from the holding meansat will, said plunger being formed with abutment means, and at leastthree pivoted detent dogs mounted adjacent the plunger, each at aREFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 285,368 Trieller Sept. 18, 18831,196,235 Heyman et al Aug. 29, 1916

